These games were completed and reviewed in magazines but are nowhere to be seen today. Did you had any of them? If so contact us, and your name will be placed in this same page for the glory of the C64! :)

Do you have actual C64 screenshots of a game that, although released, is nowhere to be seen? Then please contact us with the relevant info and screenshots in order to be included in the present column.

================================================

SECTION A -- GAMES STILL MISSING!

FUN SCHOOL SPECIAL - PAINT AND CREATE
(C) 1993 EUROPRESS SOFTWARE

This excellent educational game was available only on cassette and contains 6 sub-parts that load separately: Interactive Intro, Make a Monster (pictured above), Card Creator, Art Alive, Jigsaw and Music Maestro (pictured above).

Read the CForce review of January 1993!

HERE AND THERE WITH THE MR MEN
(C) 1985 MIRRORSOFT

Read the ZZAP!64 review of December 1985

PYRAMID OF TIME
(C) 198? ACTIVISION
BUDGET RE-RELEASE BY FIREBIRD

PHALSBERG
(C) 1987 Infogrames/Ere Informatique

A French RPG, similar in style to Mandragore and Omega, it was released in 1987 and was reviewed in ZZAP!64 issue 30 (October 1987). It involved the usual treasure hunt and monster-slaying, but it seems to have disappeared from existence...

ZZAP!64 reviewed the english version of this game, but the original was in french. The reviewer mentions that the translation was not perfect and that there where discrepancies between some english words used in the manual and their corresponding words in the game (ex. the manual says 'Heal', the program expects 'Treat'). The game was disk-only and while it loaded it displayed "a pleasantly programmed rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition"...

UPDATE -- Found some screenshots!

The German computer magazine RUN reviewed the french version in its October 1986 issue. It contained a number of screenshots:

. .

2ND UPDATE -- Game found?

Mr. Fox of Hokuto Force informed us that he has the French version of the game and is working on cracking it and translating it to the English language! Hopefully, we'll soon see a release of this final RPG from Infogrames . . . till then, take a look at the ZZAP!64 review of September 1987, as we present there some screenshots that his friend Rob Nicoletti sent us (taken directly from Mr. Fox's Commodore 1802 monitor!)

================================================

SECTION B -- CLOSED CASES!

KAISER
(C) 1986 Ariolasoft
(english version)

A quality strategy game, its German version can be found all over the internet. An English version, however, *was* released and it was reviewed in ZZAP!64 issue 11 (March 1986). Unfortunatelly this version is nowhere to be found...

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

Here's proof of acquisition! :)

Thanks to Matthew Allen, a.k.a. Mayhem UK, who generously bid for it in e-bay, another C64 title was rescued from obscurity!

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE
(C) 1992 Kingsoft/D.M.I.
(english version)

A well known game, whose German version is abundant. However, there was an English version released in the UK, and it was reviewed in Commodore Format issue 24 (September 1992). Furthermore, a playable demo containing the first level was included in the covertape of ZZAP!64 issue 88 (same month) which also stated that the UK distribution was handled by D.M.I.

Note that an unofficially translated English version by groups Vision and Genetix can be found in some places, however the one we're after is the complete Official English version.

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

This thought-lost C64 gem has been finally uncovered!

We'd like to express our gratitude to Rasmus Wernersson, who besides his extremely loaded schedule managed to uncover and transfer the disks to D64 format for the benefit of the whole C64 community.

Download: The Complete Hagar! (342k)

Contents:
H_BACK1.D64 contains the original German version.
H_BACK2.D64 contains the original English version.
H_DEMO1.D64 contains two demos released for publicity.
HAG_SRC1.D64 contains the game's source code.
HAG_SRC2.D64 contains the compiled game's source code.
HAGAR.TXT contains more or less what we say here.

The German version was published by Kingsoft in 1992, with slightly altered loading screen. The English version was never published. Both versions contain the original manual-based protection intact. An unprotected English version, patched by Michael Plate by permission of the programmer, can be downloaded from our Rare Games Corner section.

REALMS OF DARKNESS
(C) 1987 S.S.I.

An R.P.G. by the masters of Strategy and R.P.G.'s Strategic Simulations Inc, it featured prominently in an advertisement published in ZZAP!64 issue 36 (April 1988) along with other releases scheduled for that year.

All other games are already in gamebase, but not the labelled C64-Only Realms of Darkness. Usually we are not based on advertisments as proof of a game's release, but given the very high number of strategy games not reviewed by any magazine (including some more from the ones in the above ad) we can say that there are *very high* chances the game was actually released. Since SSI is a US-based software company, perhaps someone can find a review in a US mag? If so, pls notify us so we update the present article.

The game-related text in the ad says: "REALMS OF DARKNESS is a challenging, multi-faceted adventure game. Guide up to eight adventurers on seven different quests, to solve the increasingly difficult puzzles that block your path to glory."

FINAL UPDATE - GAME FOUND & CONVERTED - >CASE CLOSED<

Read all about the conversion effort here!

THE ODYSSEY
(C) 1986 Duckworth

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

A great *thank you* to Frank Gasking of Games that Weren't for doing the detective work, co-author Mike Gerrard for pointing us at the right direction and John D Ryan for having preserved an original copy and supplying it for conversion!

Read about it and get the game from the ZZAP!64 review of May 1986

ANTICS
(C) 1985 Bug Byte

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

Our gratitude goes to Robert Buckley for buying the original tape at e-bay, then contacting us and offering to send it over for conversion! It's worth mentioning that Rob was no C64 user -- he was a CPC fan who read our pages by chance and decided to help us! That's the true emulation spirit! :)

Read the ZZAP!64 review of June 1985

CALIFORNIA GAMES II
(C) 1990 Epyx

The sequel to what is considered by most as the best multi-sport C64 game, it was offered during 1990 and 1991 for sale by US Mail Order company Tenex Computer Express. Are you one of the select few who ordered it?

Here's the full advertisement text, taken directly from their mid-summer 1991 catalogue:

California games II: This sequel offers five new events. Maximize your cruising time over the California countrside in Hang Gliding, choose your ride and your course in jet Ski, master a barrel roll off the lip of a wave in Bodyboard, then freeze your toes off in snowboard. Once you've mastered the others, you're ready for Skateboarding. Land yourself in the Hall of Fame or Shame. From EPYX.

C64/C128, Disk $29.95
Amiga, Disk $39.95

FINAL UPDATE! - GAME WAS NEVER MADE - >CASE CLOSED<

Sad news indeed, but California Games II was never released on the C64. Here what the game's producer Matt Householder replied to the inquiring Frank Gasking:

I'm sorry to report that California Games II was never completed on the C64. I was directly involved in every finished version of CGII, excepting the Amiga. The C64 version was started prior to the 1989 bankruptcy and massive lay-off, however. So, some C64 art/code may have existed at some point. But, if so, I'm sure it has been lost. You should have seen the dumpsters full of trash -- piles of floppies, cartridges, tapes...

Regardless, the Snowboarding and Hang-gliding events were conceived and designed after the bankruptcy. So, any C64 version wouldn't have included them. We designed and coded from scratch all the events' gameplay after the bankruptcy.

ORM AND CHEEP -- THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
(C) 1985 Macmillan Software

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

Our gratitude goes to Daniel Curnock for buying the original tape at e-bay and agreeing to loan it in order to be converted, and to Frank Gasking for contacting Daniel in the first place and doing the actual conversion!

Read the ZZAP!64 review of December 1985

FUN SCHOOL 4
(FOR 5-7 YEAR OLDS)

Released in 1992, this is an educational package. In Gamebase we currently have only the UNDER 5's and OVER 7's versions of FUN SCOOL 4.

ZZAP!64 reviewed the 5-7 YEAR OLDS package of six mini-games in its March 1992 issue. The games are presented by Freddie the Frog, and include:

1) A word game were you help Freddie sort a pile of library books into alphabetical order.
2) A basketball game were you select the next number in a given sequence. If you're right Freddie scores, if not he misses.
3) A shop sequence where you buy food by selecting the right coins.
4) A sequence were you replace the logs in Freddie's log cabin by doing a series of sums.
5) A game were you answer some 'opposite' questions to help a crocodile out of a pond.
6) A simple typing game where you exercise your keyboard skills.

"The first thing you notice about Fun School 5-7s is the amazing graphics -- they're really superb! With plenty of colour and hilarious animation, it's a real treat to the eyes."

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

Our gratitude goes to Frank Gasking of Games That Weren't for fishing the original out of e-bay and converting it to D64 format!

Frank, you could change your site to "Games That Weren't And Some That Were But Nobody Else Could Find" -- or maybe not! ;)

FUN SCHOOL SPECIAL - SPELLING FAIR
(C) 1993 EUROPRESS SOFTWARE

This excellent educational game was available only on cassette and contains 6 sub-parts that load separately.

Read the CForce review of March 1993!

.

.

.

FINAL UPDATE! - THE GAME WAS FOUND! - >CASE CLOSED<

Our gratitude goes to Bo Goeran Kvamme for converting the original tape to TAP format and cleaning it up for optimum loading! Thanks to Bo another piece of C64 history has been preserved for posterity!

================================================

Anyone has reviews of these games in a different C64 magazine of the era? Pls scan it at 115dpi and send it over so any new information / screenshots are added to the present article.

On to DUFFY DUCK

On to MURDER